Flask swirler



Sept. 3, 1957 D. E. KERR-LAWSON 2,804,777

FLASK SWIRLER Filed Nov. 28, 195s- Inventor Douglas Edward Kerl -Luwson Att ys Considering now the effects of the movement of the lever 16 in the direction of the arrows 16b, as the lever is rigidly connected to the shaft 10, movement in the direction of the arrows '16bwill cause the shaft to be rotated about its longitudinal axis a. This rotation imparts to the flask a movement in the direction of the arrows 11c, and it will be again observed that the point X at the intersection of the axes 10a, 11a, 15a is unaffected by the movement.

It will thus be seen that rotation of the crank arm 18 imparts to the flask movements in the direction of the arrows 11b and 11c,which movements occur in combination, the displacement in the direction of the arrows 11b being at a minimum when the displacement in the direction of the arrows 11c is at a maximum. The result of these combined movements is that the flask traces a circular or elliptical path, as is indicated by the arrows 11d, the distance of the point X from lever 16, the length of the lever 16, and the radius of the locus of the pin 17 determining whether the path followed by the flask be circular or elliptical. Expressed another way, the axis 11a of the flask below the point X will follow a path generating the surface of an imaginary cone when the shaft 19 is rotated.

To cater for misalignment of the ends of the lever 16 due to the rise and fall of the arm 14, the lever is preferably formed from a strip of spring steel, the major width of the lever lying in a plane transverse to the axis 10a of the shaft 10.

As the point X is not displaced whenithe apparatus is in use, and the point X lies within the throat of the flask, it will be appreciated that .very little movement is imparted to the throat of the flask as compared with the bulb thereof. This has the desirable effect that fluids can be introduced into the flask while the apparatus is in motion with little danger of any fluid which may contact the inner wall of the throat being thrown outwardly by centrifugal action. Also, it is comparatively easy to introduce the fluid into the flask while it is in motion.

A further advantage accruing from the invention when used for swirling a flask, resides in the fact that the velocity of movement of the flask is not constant. This is due to the fact that the maximum velocity of the arm 14 occurs when the arm is rising and the lever 16 is at a tangent to the locus of'the pivot 17.

On the other hand, the swinging of the lever 16 in the direction of the arrow 16b is constant for each traverse of the pin 17 from one side to the other of a horizontal diameter of the laws; This inconstancy in velocity has the beneficial effect of causing increased turbulence within fluids contained in the flask, and results in highly efficient mixing of the fluids.

The apparatus, instead of being used for swirling a flask, may alternatively be used for moving a stirring rod or paddle, or used for such purposes as providing animation in display equipments, etc.

'What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for converting a rotary motion into a compound oscillatory motion, comprising in combination, a first shaft associated with the source of rotary motion for said shaft to be rotated about its longitudinal axis, a crank arm extending radially of the end of said shaft, a lever pivotally connected to said crank arm at a point remote from the axis of said shaft, a second shaft fast with the other end of said lever and extending in a direction which is substantially the same as the direction of the axis of said first shaft, said second shaft being adapted to support a member for said member to extend laterally of said second shaft, a second arm pivoted about said second shaft is journalled, the combined oscillatory motion imparted to said second shaft and said arm by said lever when said first shaft is rotated causing a point on the longitudinal axis of said member to trace an elliptical path so that said axis defines the surface of an imaginary cone. v

2. Apparatus for imparting a combined oscillatory motion to a body, including a shaft adapted to support said body for the longitudinal axis of said body to extend laterally of the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a pivot bearing having its axis normal to said shaft and intersecting the axis of said body, an arm pivotally supported from said bearing, a journal bearing carried by said arm and in which said shaft is journalled, and means for osciliating the said arm about the axis of said pivot hearing and oscillating said shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof to cause said axis of said body to oscillate about the point of intersection of the axis of said longitudinal shaft, body and pivot bearing, the combined oscillatory motion imparted to said arm and said shaft causing a point on the longitudinal axis of said body to trace an elliptical path so that said axis defines the surface of an imaginary cone. g

3. Apparatus for imparting a combined oscillatory motion to a body, including a shaft adapted to support said body for the longitudinal axis of said body to extend laterally of the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a pivot bearing having its axis normal to said shaft and intersecting the axis of said body, an arm pivotally supported from said bearing, a journal bearing carried by said arm and in which said shaft is journalled, a lever rigidly secured to said shaft and extending laterally of said shaft in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane containing the axis of said pivot and journal bearings, and means for causing a point on said lever remote from said shaft to describe a circular locus in a plane transverse to the axis of said shaft, the combined oscillatory motion imparted to said arm and said shaft by said lever when said point describes said locus causing a point on the longitudinal axis of said body to trace an elliptical path so that said axis defines the surface of an imaginary cone.

4. Apparatus for imparting a combined oscillatory motion to a body, including a shaft adapted to support said body for the longitudinal axis of said body to extend laterally of the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a pivot bearing having its axis normal to said shaft and intersecting the axis of said body, an arm pivotally supported from said bearing, a journal bearing carried by said arm and in which said shaft is journalled, a lever rigidly secured to said shaft adjacent said journal bearing and extending laterally of said shaft in a direction substantially perpen dicular to the plane containing the axis of said pivot and journal bearings, and means for causing a point on said lever remote from said shaft to describe a circular locus in a plane transverse to the axis of said shaft, the combined oscillatory motion imparted to said arm and said shaft by said lever when said point describes said locus causing a point on the longitudinal axis of said body to trace an elliptical path so that said axis defines the surface of an imaginary cone.

5. Apparatus for imparting a compound oscillatory motion to a body, including a shaft adapted to support said body for the longitudinal axis of said body to extend laterally of the longitudinal axis of said shaft,'a pivot bearing having its axis normal to said shaft and intersecting the axis of said body, an arm pivotally supported from said bearing, a journal bearing carried by said arm, and in which said shaft is journalled, a lever rigidly secured 'to saidshaft adjacent said journal bearing and extending laterally of said shaft in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane containing the axis of said pivot and journal bearings, a crank arm mounted for rotary movement in a plane transverse to the axisof said shaft, means for rotating said crank arm and means pivotally connecting the end of the lever remote from said shaft to said crank arm on a radius of the axis of rotation thereof, the combined oscillatory motion imparted to said arm and said shaft by said lever when said crank arm is rotated causing a point on the longitudinal axis of said body to trace an elliptical path so that said axis defines the surface of an imaginary cone.

6. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which said lever is resilient in a direction axially of said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,155,596 Hawes Apr. 25, 1939 5 2,539,851 Massey Jan. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 858,903 Germany Dec. 11, 1952 

